"With Texas and OU moving to the SEC, it caused a renewed consideration of the options that are available," Bowlsby said. The planned exits of Oklahoma and Texas made the conference reexamine where it stood. The CFP board of managers is set to meet in Chicago in late September.īowlsby said the Big 12 considered Houston and other candidates back in 2016 but ultimately chose to remain at 10 members, noting that it was disappointing for those at Houston to hear. "I think that these are very high-quality football programs that are additive to the Big 12 and have the capability, especially with an array of stronger opponents within the conference, we have an opportunity to demonstrate how we can play at the national level."īowlsby was part of the working group that proposed a 12-team model in June, although several major realignment moves have since happened. "Whether it'll be a 12-team playoff or whether it'll be an eight-team playoff or whether it'll come in Year 11 or whether it'll come in Year 13, those things are yet to be determined by the board of managers. "It's a relative certainty that we will expand the playoff at some point in time," Bowlsby said. "We're living in a very fast-changing athletic environment, and we will be at 14 for a while, we will drop back to 12, and as there are targets of opportunity or as there are situations that dictate that we change composition, we'll be prepared to do those things."īy adding the four new schools, Bowlsby said, he believes the Big 12 has fortified itself ahead of the departures of Oklahoma and Texas, as well as the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff. "We're always going to be open to new opportunities as they present themselves," Bowlsby said. AAC willing to let departing teams go before 2024īowlsby also said further expansion remains a possibility for the conference."I certainly wouldn't foreclose on any of the institutions coming in as early as July 1 ," Bowlsby said. If that were to happen, it's possible the league could temporarily expand to as many as 14 teams if those schools join before Oklahoma and Texas leave. AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN on Friday that the conference will be willing to negotiate a higher exit fee to accommodate earlier departures for the three schools. An earlier exit - with a higher buyout - is always a possibility. In that scenario, joining by the 2023 season would be a long shot, but some sources have said it is realistic. Bowlsby noted that all four have obligations to their existing leagues - although BYU is a football-independent school, its other programs participate in the West Coast Conference.ĪAC bylaws require schools to give a 27-month notice before they leave and pay a $10 million buyout fee. The Big 12 was waiting until this week when those schools formally indicated they wanted to join the conference.īYU will join the league for the 2023-2024 athletic season, with Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby saying the other three programs will join no later than July 1, 2024, but possibly earlier. Big 12 officials moved quickly to make the league whole again, forming a subcommittee that concluded that the most successful football schools in the American Athletic Conference - Cincinnati, Houston and UCF - were the top choices, along with independent BYU. The move comes less than two months after Big 12 co-founders Oklahoma and Texas announced they would join the SEC by July 1, 2025, leaving the future of the remaining eight schools in the Big 12 in a precarious position. In a statement, the Big 12 said the four schools were "approved unanimously by the eight continuing members." The Big 12 presidents and chancellors voted on Friday to accept BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF into the conference.
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